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Farming '92, 1992-03-18, Page 3FARMING ’92, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1992. A3--- - -------------------------------------------------------- -JBIII Farming '92 Area farmers harvest own retail businesses Direct to the consumer These days the gap between the consumer and the farmer seems to be growing wider every day. There is lit­ tle contact between an increasingly-urban customer and farmers who take little part in marketing their own prod­ uct. At the same time, the amount of the food dollar that actually goes to the farmer has been decreasing. Some farmers have attempted to close the gap by cutting out the middlemen and dealing directly with the public. This special issue of Farming ’91 tells of several area farmers who take their goods directly to the consumer. goes through a pressure filter to become the finished product. From the sugar camp, some of the finished syrup goes on up to the house for further processing. Susanne boils the syrup even fur­ ther in a boiler called a pig to make maple butter and sugar candy. Susanne says the amount of mois­ ture in the syrup determines the end product, and the sweeter the sap the less you have to boil it. The different grades of syrup is judged by flavour and colour, which Bill says is caused by weath­ er conditions. The warmer the weather, the more the bacteria in the sap grows, thus the darker the syrup. The grading scales range from extra light, light, medium, and Amber for cooking purposes. The Robinsons now have some 12,500 taps in five different bushes, tapping some 200 acres of bush. They use approximately 40 miles of tubing. The spiles and tubing must go to the same trees every year, the trees being marked with paint and each line being marked alphabetically and numerically. The Robinsons begin operations by the end of January, tapping by mid-February. They boil in March for approximately four weeks and cleanup is from April to May. Robinson's Maple Products usually employs from three to five employ­ ees to help with setting up in prime season, plus Bill's father lends a hand. Even Bill and Susanne's four children contribute to the family enterprise, pitching in to help clean up the tubing and placing it in stor­ age. The tubing is placed into tanks continued on page All SOYBEAN GROWERS DON'T GAMBLE ON SEED QUALITY -ASK YOUR SUPPLIER IF HIS BEANS MATCH THE BEST IN THE INDUSTRY AC BRAVOR OFFERS HIGH YIELD (110 index) and FIRST LINE QUALITY MAPLE GLEN and MAPLE DONOVAN are also available from FIRST LINE Sweet treats To make sugar candy Susanne Robinson boils the syrup from the sugar camp even further, then pours it into molds. The amount of moisture left in the syrup determines the end product. Also Available: -Northrup King Corn, Soybeans and Forages -First Line Symko Barley -Other spring grains from Connells -Funks Corn TV4' -Histick Soybean inoculant CALL NOW FOR LOW PRICES & MARCH DISCOUNTS JOHN W. KING HR #4 Wingham 357-2645 Bill and Susanne Robinson's Maple Products by St. Augustine continues a family tradition, which began in the early 1900's with Bill's grandfather. Bill began making syrup in pub­ lic school, tapping roadside trees and boiling the sap on the wood stove. After high school, he helped a neighbour with his operations until his death in 1974. Bill enjoyed it so much he decided to continue on his own. In 1976, he went into partnership with his wife Susanne, setting up his own sugar camp on his family's farm. For the first cou­ ple of years, they only tapped two bushes (some 3,800 taps), from which they have added on to every year. The process is a lot more compli­ cated than one would imagine. There is only two per cent natural sugar in sap, and it takes up to 40 litres of maple sap to make one litre of maple syrup. The sap enters the processing camp through one of three reverse osmosis-machines, that work under pressure. The pressure forces the water through the membranes, but the sugar won't go through. This changes it from a thinner to a thick­ er solution, concentrating the sap to increase the sugar content. Bill says the main reason this process is used is to save energy. Two-thirds to three-quarters of the water is out of the sap before it is even boiled. The next step is the evaporator, which is made up of a series of pipes and a preheater. The heat from the steam coming off heats he sap going into the evaporator, rhe liquid slowly moves back and orlh through pans, forcing it into a :oncentrate and bringing it closer o being syrup. The third step is the finishing pan, where the actual syrup comes out. The liquid concentrate moves back and forth through the pan at boiling temperatures. Maple syrup boils above the boiling point of water at about 219 degrees Fahren­ heit. Once the solution is on tem­ perature, the release valve is opened until the thermometer drops back down again. From here it then goes on to the filter tank, where it Work begins Bill Robinson demonstrates how the evaporator works in his maple sugar camp. Steam heat boils the sap going slowly through a series of pans in the evaporator, bringing the liquid closer to being actual maple syrup.